Travel report: Baltic capitals on the Serenade of the Seas

[WouterC]

From Amsterdam to Copenhagen Airport and from the airport to the center

 

We left for Schiphol Amsterdam airport at 5AM to catch our flight at 9.45 AM. The flight was smooth and took about 1 hour, because of the excellent weather conditions.

 

At Copenhagen airport, we walked to the baggage pickup, our luggage arrived after about 15 minutes.

We bought a 24 hour pass for about 17 euros.

 

There was one ticket machine right before luggage transport, there were was a line of a few people, but it was a lot less crowded then the machines near the DSB information desk closer to the train tracks. A single train ticket costs about 5 euros per person.

 

Our hotel was close to the central station, Kobenhavns H. We took the train from the airport to the station. Finding the tracks was really easy, there are signs with a train icon on it and the track number. Track 2 goes to the city center, if you read the text on the signs you can't go wrong

 

There were trains about every 10 minutes. We boarded the train and waited between the compartments, where there were a couple of pull-down seats. We also picked up a free city map from here.

 

The station had different exits, so be sure you know which exit you are exiting from.

 

We landed in Copenhagen around 11 AM and we arrived at the hotel at about 12.10 PM.

 

Day 0 - Copenhagen (August 14)

 

Our room wasn't ready until 3PM, so we dropped our luggage at the hotel and went to explore Copenhagen on foot.

 

We explored the city by walking:

 

from the hotel to the shopping street, Stroget,

from Stroget to Kongens Nytorv

From Kongens Nytorv along Nyhavn and past Amalienborg

From Amalienborg to the statue of the little Mermaid.

We then walked around the star-shaped island (on the map it said Churchill parken) to the Osterport bus stop, where we took the bus back to the central station Kobenhavns H.

In the evening we went to a restaurant near us, which we felt was a bit overpriced. Until we talked to a couple on the ship who told us they paid 21 euros for a glass of wine and a beer. After that we went to Tivoli park, here are also a lot of places to eat and we found the prices to be very reasonable.

 

Anyhow, Tivoli has of course more than just eateries. We really enjoyed walking around there, it's beautiful and even more so after it gets dark. We entered the park at about 6.30PM, so we avoided paying the higher price after 7PM, because of the Fredagsrock (Friday Rock) concerts. We paid 99 DKK entry fee and paid separately for a couple of rides. Be aware that the rides are costly. Even so, getting a multi-ride ticket wouldn't have made sense for us, as we only did 2 rides: the Daemonen rollercoaster, approved by my rollercoasting-loving wife, and a ride with wooden tracks that had a lot of 'hops'.

 

We also saw a "Commedia Del'Arte" performance at the peacock theather, which was very interesting.

 

In the evening, we stayed for a while to see DJ Kato, who was playing there. It was enjoyable, but we didn't stay for the entire concert since we were pretty tired from the day.

 

Day 1 - Copenhagen and boarding the Serenade of the Seas (August 15)

We had to check out at 12PM, so we went to take a look inside of the shops along Stroget.

 

 

We also had a really good Frozen Yoghurt there. You could could make it yourself, with a lot of flavors and about every topping you can imagine. You payed for that by weight. It wasn't the cheapest, but we felt it was worth it.

 

Around noon, we ordered a taxi to take us from our hotel to Oceankaj where the Serenade was docked. This cost us about 25 euro in total.

 

Even though it was still early, there were already a lot of people at the ship terminal. We had arranged the check-in and payment online through Royal Carribean's website and it took us less than half an hour to board the ship.

 

Royal Carribean's Serenade of the Seas

We thought the Serenade was a beautiful ship. You can tell it isn't the newest ship (especially having been on the Anthem a couple of months earlier), but it still looked very good and clean.

 

Two things that really made a difference: the Solarium and the fact that there was so much 'glass' all around the ship. Even though we had really good weather, outside you could feel the wind which was often quite chilly. The solarium was wind-free and had everything you'd want: a large swimming pool, towels ready on the seats with fresh towels nearby, a jacuzzi (two would have been even better) and the Park Café, where you could get food (sandwiches, cookies and salads) and drinks (coffee, water and different kinds of lemonade). My wife found some kind of green worm inside her salad, that was not a great surprise! We had no problems on the rest of the trip, but perhaps better check your food first, just in case.

 

The pool water is salt water and the pool is heated. The first day we thought the water was way to hot, the next days it was a little colder but still warm. Not sure why it was like that.

 

The ship had nice public spaces with, among others, a very large Schooner bar. The central atrium was also very nice, with on each floor a couple of seats to sit and to look at the action.

 

Our room (D2 balcony room) was very nice, with plenty of storage: a closet, 6 drawers and a couple of shelves.

The shower was large enough to take a shower without bumping your elbows against the door. Only downside was that we couldn't fit our large suitcase under the bed (we had 1 large suitcase and 1 small one), so we had to put it in a corner of the room.

 

We did feel we couldn't enjoy the balcony fully: because of the strong and often chilly winds it usually wasn't very nice to sit there. The exception was sailing the Stockholm Archipelago (you probably need to get up early 5AM-6AM to see it though) and sailing into Stockholm itself. It was really nice to have a good and 'private' view of this.

 

Drinks and purchases

As Crown&Anchor members, you get a number of coupons to use during your trip. It's totally unclear to me when they offer it or not. Some bartenders didn't mention it, others asked if they should use it or not.

 

We were offered a restaurant package for $65, which in hindsight would have saved us a bit... so it's worth asking exactly how it works.

 

We drank some glasses of wine every evening, getting a bottle would have saved us some more.

 

As for cocktails, they were able to make cocktails that we knew from before, like one of our favorites the Wildberry Lava Flow ($12.5).

 

Cocktails have gotten more expensive in the last couple of years, which can make your epenses account add up faster than you think! It's probably a good idea to check your expenses account on your stateroom TV on day 2 or 3.

 

One final thing: always take a look of what you are getting. Some waiters will give you the 'Ultimate' version of a cocktail, which means with premium spirit and at premium price. For example, one waiter in the Schooner bar brought me an Ultimate Pina Colada... it tasted bitter, probably because of the premium spirit and it cost $14.

 

And the large bottle of water at Izumi cost $9.

Nothing to be too upset about, but all of these little things can really add up on your final bill.

 

 

So it helps to be a little alert!

 

Chaos in the dining room

Our first evening in the main dining room wasn't a succes. It looked like something in the administration had gone wrong: a lot of people did not get a table assigned, and as a result there were a lot of people who had to wait in line before the reservation desk. We waited in line for about 45 minutes on deck 4, also because there was a large group before us (10 or 12 people), for which they didn't seem to be able to find an agreeable solution.

 

When it was our turn, the staff member looked at my card, noticed there wasn't a table number on it and told us we had the Mytime Dining. Since the confirmation from our travel agency and our Royal Carribean online account said 'Second Seating', we told him so. He wrote 'MTD' on my seapass with a black marker and told us to go to deck 5.

 

We did and had to wait in line again, for another 30-40 minutes. About 1,5 hour had passed... it was almost 10PM and we didn't have a bite to eat yet. When they told us to go back to deck 4 and wait in line there, we had enough and insisted on getting a table... we're very patient people but this was getting ridiculous.

 

The service wasn't good either. It was clear that the waiters, through no fault of their own, had to cope with the chaos of whatever went wrong. Waiters were bumping into eachother and it took another 10-15 minutes before someone could take our order. We tried to forget this evening as soon as possible!

 

The other days, the service was exemplary and the restaurant manager and waiters really did their best to help us out. It did also help that on the third day, we got a conversation going with two really nice people from Ireland, a grandmother and her granddaughter.

 

So if you signed up for the first or second seating and there is no table number on your sea pass, try to get clarity about this as soon as possible!

 

Day 2 - Sea Day

Nothing much to report... we enjoyed the Solarium by swimming a lot, using the Jacuzzi and resting on the beds. After that we explored the ship, the ship has nice bars and seating areas. We especially liked the Atrium, Caffé Latte-tudes, the Schooner Bar and the Safari club, which even had tables with a couple of board games such as checkers and chess. The Atrium turned out to be the spot where the most action took places, such as a rock&roll party, a 70s party and a couple of aerial acrobatics shows.

 

Day 3 - Stockholm

We docked at Stadsgarden 165, which was great. It's only a short walk to the old town. We wanted to see the Vasa museum first, so we booked a taxi in advance through Taxi 020. Something went seriously wrong, because the driver was nowhere to be seen. Seems like the driver misunderstood the pick-up point, since he was waiting in front of 'Birka Boat'... we didn't find each other and the trip was cancelled. So we walked to the bus stop instead (exit the port gate, turn right and walk a few minutes), where there was a line of taxis waiting. We got into a cab of Taxi 020, who we thought was our driver. He said he could take us instead, we took him up on his offer and were on our way.

 

It took about 20 minutes to go to the Vasa museum, the driver dropped us off behind a line of buses and we walked the last hundred meters. We paid about 16 euros. There was a line before the doors, but that line moved quickly.

 

When we arrived in Vasa, there were two lines: one for people buying tickets at the counter and another one with three self-service machines where you can pay with credit card or 'normal' bank card with PIN. Skip the left line and immediately go to the machines. You'll get something that looks like a receipt, that actually is your ticket and you can immediately go into the museum (or use the bathroom on the very right first) through the entrance to the left of the machines.

 

The restored Vasa ship is amazing. On a one-day visit to Stockholm, Vasa museum + the old town is a good combination and very doable. We walked back counterclockwise, following Strandvagen and walking into the old town.

 

After visiting the old town for about 2 hours, we walked back to our ship. That took about 25 minutes.

 

Stockholm is great, the center is very compact and you can clearly see major 'landmarks' from anywhere.

That makes it easy to know which direction you should walk in.

 

Day 4 - Tallin

We walked into town. When we got off the ship, we got a map somewhere (forgot where, I think a small TI), kept the Balloon Tallin (big balloon) to our right as well as the souvenir stand that said something like "through here to get to town". Or you could pass it by and arrive at the exact same place ;-)

 

We followed the map and our fellow tourists.

 

The town was very charming, well worth a visit. But one day is certainly enough to see most of the town. Don't forget certainly the higher viewpoints, which are also if you bought a picknick or to eat your sandwich.

 

We had lunch at the main square is some kind of German restaurant (forgot the name), ate decent and paid about 20 euro per person for food and drink.

 

We thought the waiters and merchants here weren't friendly at all. Like they knew you'd be gone tomorrow and couldn't be bothered to be polite or helpful.

 

Day 5 - Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg was the highlight of our cruise. I won't be writing a lot here, since we took a tour with TJ travel and I already wrote up a review of our tour ( http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g298507-d1818810-r301428323-TJ_Travel_St_Petersburg_Shore_Excursions_and_City_Tours-St_Petersburg_Northweste.html )on Tripadvisor.

 

One thing I want to mention: every day in the morning we got an announcement telling us that the ship had been cleared for boarding. We didn't hear anything this morning. If you booked through a local tour operator, get down to the disembarkation deck (Deck 2 in our case) as soon as you can.

 

Day 6 - Helsinki

We didn't have cash for the shuttle bus, so instead took a taxi and asked to drop us off near the shuttle bus stop. It cost us 12 euro in total to take us there, exactly what we would have payed for the shuttle bus. Our driver was very helpful.

 

We visited the rock church and main-square-with-white-building, but found the city center wasn't pretty. It is a good port for shopping however, with prices that are lower than most places, especially for leather.

 

We took the shuttle bus back to the ship, our vacation nearly over.

 

Day 6 - Sea day

We needed this day to recover from the last couple of days (especially Saint-Petersburg). The solarium was a nice place to be once again. This was also the only day the solarium was crowded.

 

Day 7 - Disembarkation and the Late Departure 'twilight zone' (August 22)

We chose to purchase something called the "Late Departure Program", which caused some confusion since RC categorizes this as a shore excursion and we were wondering what that was, since we didn't take any shore excursions.

 

It was nice to stay in the room until 9PM (although they *really* want you out of the room by then, as apparent by the phone call at 8:30 and two knocks between 8:30 and 9:00) on the ship for a while longer, being able to swim (but we had to wait first for the pool to be cleaned). On the other hand, several places were closed and crew members didn't smile or talk to you like they used during the rest of the cruise. At times, we felt a bit like ghosts on a ship. When we were leaving the ship around 13:20PM, several crew members welcomed us aboard.... and when we told us we were leaving, they swore they remembered our faces (uh uh).

 

We saw a lot, had a lot of fun and had a great time overall. It wasn't perfect:

- we were a little surprised at how high our final bill was,

- the first evening was chaos when going to dinner

- taking the late departure on this cruise was really weird; we also did it on the navigator of the seas in the Mediterranean and that time truly felt we were still on vacation.

 

We did have one big advantage: good weather throughout the entire cruise: sunny, between 19 en 23 degrees.

 

However, after all is said and done, doing this itinerary on the Serenade of the Seas is highly recommended!

[Desdichado62]

Hey WouterC, nice report. However for Stockholm, I think your berth was S167?

Since S167 and S160 are the ones used by cruise ships at Stadsgården.

 

Also which location did you specify in the taxi booking?

Edited August 30, 2015 by Desdichado62

[WouterC]

Hey WouterC, nice report. However for Stockholm, I think your berth was S167?

Since S167 and S160 are the ones used by cruise ships at Stadsgården.

 

Also which location did you specify in the taxi booking?

 

On all our paperwork, it said 'Stadsgarden 165', so that's the location we offered. Our ship was here, in the empty space between the two boats.

 

I called the taxi company when we were in Copenhagen, the operator said to use their app and to enter 'Stadsgarden 165' as the addres. I did that and later in the day, called to see if they received our reservation. They confirmed they did.

 

However, when we disembarked, there was no taxi to be seen. We called the company, who asked for the name of the ship and then said they would try to locate the driver. Despite all efforts, we couldn't find the driver.

 

The driver called himself too, he said something like "Birka boat? Birka boat?".

 

In the end, we walked back to this space, where several buses and a row of taxis were waiting.

 

We thought we saw our driver, because a yellow taxi from taxi 020 pulled up near us. Wasn't him, but he offered to take us to Vasa instead, which we did. We were tired of chasing our taxi and we told the operator. They cancelled our booking and didn't charge anything.

 

A little more about Stockholm itself: after Saint-Petersburg, it was our favorite city out of all the cities we visited. We also didn't feel it was expensive. Sure, it was expensive if you ordered a drink inside Gamla Stan, but everywhere else we looked, the prices were very reasonable. We ate in a restaurant inside the Vasa building where we paid 135 (about 14 euro) sek per person for meatballs + potatoes + salad + coffee.

Edited August 31, 2015 by WouterC

[WouterC]

Also, I just saw that I made a mistake for the taxi price to Vasa: the taxi cost us 21 euros, however the traffic was pretty slow. With better traffic, that would have been less.

[Desdichado62]

WouterC, ok, Stadsgården 165-167 is basically the same place but I think in the ship list it is designated as S167, because I don't think I have ever seen the mention of S165 before.

The quay area used by this ship is S165+S166+S167. http://kartor.eniro.se/m/ZZva2 S162-S164 is used by Viking Line's ferries.

 

Also is it possible when you booked the taxi that you, by mistake, entered S155 instead of S165? The thing is that M/S Birka Stockholm,

which also is a cruise ship, have it's berth and terminal at Stadsgården S155. So that might be why the cab driver waited in the wrong place.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Desdichado62

[dallascruiser]

What hotel did you stay at in Cooenhagen? Did you like it?

 

Linda

[WouterC]

WouterC, ok, Stadsgården 165-167 is basically the same place but I think in the ship list it is designated as S167, because I don't think I have ever seen the mention of S165 before.

The quay area used by this ship is S165+S166+S167. http://kartor.eniro.se/m/ZZva2 S162-S164 is used by Viking Line's ferries.

 

Also is it possible when you booked the taxi that you, by mistake, entered S155 instead of S165? The thing is that M/S Birka Stockholm,

which also is a cruise ship, have it's berth and terminal at Stadsgården S155. So that might be why the cab driver waited in the wrong place.

 

No, I am certain I entered the correct address. I would admit it if I was wrong, but I just checked, and I did use 165.

 

What hotel did you stay at in Cooenhagen? Did you like it?

We stayed in First Hotel Mayfair. It was nice and clean, with a good breakfast. They 'reserve' (I forgot the correct word) the amount on your credit card when checking in, then charge you when checking out.

 

Small disclaimer: across from the hotel (street: Helgolandsgade) was a striptease bar. We didn't really notice it was there during our stay however.

 

We did like the hotel, especially the location: the hotel is very close to the central station (Kobenhavns H). That is close to Tivoli and the main shopping street. Also there are lots of restaurants in this area.

 

The nice thing about a hotel here, is that you can take the train from the airport to the central station and then you're practically at your hotel.

 

We had a late flight (19:10PM). So for our return to the airport, we took a taxi to the central station, dropped our bags in the luggage locker and took a train when it was time to head to the airport.

Edited August 31, 2015 by WouterC

[WouterC]

Expenses - transport and entry fees (prices per person, based on a party of 2 persons)

 

Copenhagen

 

• Train ticket from airport to Copenhagen: €5 pp
  
• 24-hour pass public transport: €17 pp - we would have been better off using single tickets since we walked a lot and only used the bus once.
  
• Taxi from our hotel to Oceankaj: I believe it was something like €12 pp
  
• Income fee Tivoli: €13 (99DKK) pp, without the rides (Daemonen was three tickets, something like €9-€10 pp)
  

Stockholm

 

• Taxi from Stadsgarden to Vasamuseum (Vasemuseet): €10.5 pp
  
• Income fee Vasa museum: €14 pp (130 SEK pp)
  

Tallin

 

• Nothing! We just walked.
  

Saint Petersburg

 

 

• One-day Wedndesday tour with TJ travel: $160 (official price from their website)
  

Helsinki

 

• Taxi to the city center: €6 pp
  
• Shuttle bus back to the ship: €6 pp
  

Copenhagen

 

• Taxi from Oceankaj to central station: About €12-€13 pp
  
• Luggage storage: we paid about €17 for one large suitcase (large locker) and one small one (small locker)
  

Saving tips on board

 

• If you are a Crown&Anchor member, don't forget to have your discounts applied. You can ask at the reception or at the bar to print you the available discounts
  
• At certain events (art auction, welcome back party), there are free drinks
  
• Bring your own wine bottles and pay the corkage fee. But be careful, because I'm guessing that buying wine in Copenhagen will not be cheap
  
• If you drink a lot of wine: buy bottles (on the ship) instead of glasses or consider one of the drink packages
  
• Take some complimentary coffee or juices from the Park Café instead of another drink
  
• Keep an eye on the daily drink offers, discounts and the 'cocktail of the day'
  
• Consider the restaurant package 'deal' if you want to do Izumi's and one or more specialty restaurants.
  
• If you drink a lot of coffee at café latte-tudes: 7th coffee is free, keep the cards you get together somewhere in your cabin (e.g. in a drawer), or keep it with you
  
• Check your expenses on your stateroom TV on day 2 or 3 and check your final bill on the last day
  

Edited September 1, 2015 by WouterC

[jules71]

Great review --thanks for posting. This itinerary is on my "bucket list" so I really appreciate your tips. A couple of questions: what was your cruise date? (I am thinking it was August, but wanted to be sure.) How were the crowds? I know you said you had great weather, but overall was this a good time to go? Thanks in advance!!

[WouterC]

Great review --thanks for posting. This itinerary is on my "bucket list" so I really appreciate your tips. A couple of questions: what was your cruise date? (I am thinking it was August, but wanted to be sure.) How were the crowds? I know you said you had great weather, but overall was this a good time to go? Thanks in advance!!

 

We went between 14 and 22 August. It's hard to predict anything, the weather is very quirky in the region around the Baltic Capitals (and also in most West-European countries).

 

In July and August, there are a lot of tourists and the prices are generally more expensive. If you compare cruise prices, you will probably see lower prices in June and near the end of August. As for the weather, I guess you just have to be lucky.

 

You will often experience winds, both on and off the ship. That's why I recommend to book a ship with a solarium or an indoor pool and prepare to dress 'in layers', a jacket, vest or something simimar will be very useful to for when it's windy. But since we had nice weather, I could wear T-shirts and jeans most days.

 

There were crowds, but defeinitely NOT to the extent that it ruined one of our days.

My experience (but yours could be different):

 

• Copenhagen felt quite crowded, but it also felt normal. It's a large city where I have the feeling that it's always crowded, so this is normal.
  
• In Stockholm we were really glad we did the Vasa museum first and as early as possible. I guess it may be because of the lay-out of the city, but apart from the Gamla Stan area, it did not feel crowded.
  
• Tallin started to get more crowded from noon onwards
  
• Saint-Petersburg: Hermitage was quite crowded, also happy we did that 'before official opening hours'. Which basically means you and other cruise passengers visit it before the other crowds. So still a lot of people, but you'll avoid the biggest crowds. If your cruise stays overnight, an evening visit could be a good option. Catherine's Palace was the only place that felt uncomfortably crowded, even claustrophobic at times. And it was really warm!
  
• Helsinki: we weren't there long enough to really say anything useful about it. Didn't feel overly crowded though.